Kentucky is the state of championship basketball

Apr. 9, 2013
|

Louisville players celebrate winning the national championship. The win ensured that the national title would stay in the state of Kentucky for a second consecutive year. / Daniel Shirey, USA TODAY Sports

by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

ATLANTA - Another NCAA tournament title game has come and gone, and yet again the championship trophy is headed to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The scary part? It could be back in the same state again next spring.

Kentucky's incoming recruiting class is easily the best in the nation, and arguably the greatest class ever assembled. The Wildcats will likely be preseason No. 1 in every college basketball poll. So a year after Louisville followed Kentucky by winning the title, Kentucky will be the favorite to win it again. Much like the BCS National Championship trophy, which has resided in the state of Alabama for four years running, the NCAA men's basketball trophy might become a fixture of the Bluegrass State.

"It's basketball heaven in Kentucky," said Richard Pitino, Louisville coach Rick Pitino's son and former assistant. "Those are probably two of the most rabid fan bases in the country. They want to go to Final Fours and win championships. They really don't settle for less."

Already, Calipari has signed Julius Randle, the top-ranked power forward in the nation, Andrew Harrison (the No. 1 point guard recruit), Aaron Harrison (No. 1 shooting guard), James Young (the No. 2 shooting guard), Dakari Johnson (the No. 1 center), and Marcus Lee (the No. 5 power forward). Each of the six signees is a five-star recruit.

And the Wildcats could still grab Andrew Wiggins, the top overall prospect in the class of 2013. He's narrowed down his choices to Kentucky, Florida State, Kansas and North Carolina. He'll have to decide if he wants to play alongside more stars than the Miami Heat have â?? some of last year's heralded freshman will return next season as well â?? or carve his own path.

"They had the No. 1 recruiting class last year, and those were very talented players, but I think the crop coming in has a different level of players," said Evan Daniels, a recruiting expert for FOX/Scout.com. "These are elite-level prospects. These are guys, especially the Harrison twins and Julius Randle, who are going to have a major, major impact. They're positioned pretty nicely."

Calipari pieces together national championship contenders by plugging elite players into a system that emphasizes unselfish play while promising exposure and a springboard to the NBA. In 2012, a record six Kentucky players (including three freshmen) were drafted months after winning a national championship. The title, Calipari's first, seemed to validate the one-and-done system and its ability to produce a championship-caliber team. Big-name players could team up for seven months, form a team and then advance to the next level together; the 2011-12 Kentucky team showed that. Anthony Davis became a household name and eventually the No. 1 pick in the draft.

The 2012-13 Louisville team was nearly the exact opposite. Peyton Siva and Chane Behanan were top-50 recruits, but the rest weren't. Luke Hancock, the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, transferred from George Mason, a mid-major, and came off the bench all season. The unpredictable Russ Smith garnered some interest from schools like Rutgers and Baylor before ultimately signing with Louisville, but even after leading Louisville in scoring (18.7 points per game) and to a title, he's projected to be a second-round pick in the coming draft if he declares, according to DraftExpress.com.

But with the exception of 6-11 center Gorgui Dieng, there wasn't much NBA talent on this roster. Dieng is the only Louisville player projected to be a first-round pick.

"Kentucky was built around the one-and-done player, but with a mix of experience," Daniels said. "You look at Louisville, and I think they were built on experienced guys and developing players. Across the board, those are guys who really improved over the course of their careers. They were led by a guy in Peyton Siva, who has really come a long way since his freshman year.

"It's very different how these two teams were built. Obviously, there's multiple ways to have success."

Neither Smith nor Siva was a finalist for any of the national player of the year awards. Any household names? Just Kevin Ware, the backup guard who suffered a horrific leg injury on national television during Louisville's Elite Eight game against Duke, and that was because of the injury, the spotlight and the way he served as the Cardinals' inspiration.

Pitino said this Louisville squad was "one of the most together, toughest, hard-nosed teams" he's ever coached. It was a veteran group, lacking NBA-ready stars â?? unlike Kentucky of last year and next year.

"This is really what a team is," Siva said. "This is really what college basketball is about, a group of guys who are like family. With Kevin Ware going down like that, everybody rallying around him, it showed how much we love each other."